Steve Gardner from Reebok agrees. “Before, there wasn’t a lot of places for them to go retail-wise, so they lived on the Internet and places they’d reach out to were places like the Tannery.” Now, in addition to stores like Expressions, Manhattan, Hip Zeppis in Downtown Crossing; the brand-run lifestyle outposts like the PUMA Concept Store and Niketown on Newbury Street, and the Adidas Originals Store in Harvard Square; and the arrival of Karmaloop and Laced, there are more points of physical contact. “It’s definitely starting to open up here a lot bigger.”

When it gets too trendy, the real ’heads will move on. “The people that were here first, they’re gonna get sick of it,” says Spungie. “Those are the real trendsetters in life. And those are the people who’ll find out what the next thing is.”

Maine sneaker-maker could provide military footwear As the only remaining manufacturer of athletic shoes in the United States — with three factories in Maine and two in Massachusetts — New Balance wants government assurance that military servicemembers wear American-made sneakers, not ones that are made overseas.

Wearing Haring: The Reebok x Haring collection There's something compelling about the Reebok x Haring collection, a collaboration between the Canton-based footwear giant and the Keith Haring Foundation, which perpetuates the late artist's legacy by funding children's and HIV/AIDS nonprofits.

Present perfect For some hip-hop heads, artists like Mickey Factz represent everything that reeks in rap. Between his bypassing the rugged underground, blowing up on-line, and occasionally kicking Kanye-esque arrogance, he's an easy target for so-called purists.

Fresh Lobsters bring the crowds Stinking junkies weren't the only ones sleeping on Harvard Square sidewalks this past week. More than 300 sneaker heads queued outside of street-shoe mecca Concepts, on Brattle Street, for five days and nights in anticipation of last Saturday's release of the world's only 260 pairs of Nike Blue Lobster SB Dunks.

SLIDESHOW: More menswear favorites from American Field Our latest style page highlights a few of the brands being featured at this weekend’s American Field pop-up, a two-day public tradeshow and party that’s uniting 30-plus menswear and accessory companies from across the country. Here are some of the other outfitters bringing their best stuff to the South End.